The Blade Itself: Book One

Joe Abercrombie

Jun 2009 · The Blade Itself Book 1 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

'Delightfully twisted and evil' GUARDIAN

'Highly recommended ... seek it out' Joe Hill

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.

And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warrior with a bloody past, is about to wake up in a hole in the snow with plans to settle a blood feud with Bethod, the new King of the Northmen, once and for all - ideally by running away from it. But as he's discovering, old habits die really, really hard indeed...

...especially when Bayaz gets involved. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he's about to make the lives of Glotka, Jezal and Logen a whole lot more difficult...

Ratings and reviews

If you prefer a series that leaves you thoroughly satisfied at the end, don't read this. If you prefer a series where characters get redeemed in any meaningful way, don't read this. If you prefer a series where the world is revealed to you through clever exposure and not through (despite being well thought out) exposition dumps, don't read this. If you like books that leave you miserable after reading but where a full month after you're done you think to yourself 'some of that stuff was quite neat and despite everything I liked that character', then read this.

A great character-driven series of books. Abercrombie creates a fantastically engaging cast and pretty much lets them loose to diverge and cross paths. Darkly entertaining and one of the wittiest writers I've come across. The Blade Itself is fun and interesting of itself, but it pages the way for the rest of his books, which go from strength to strength.

This is a great introduction to the series, and would have warranted five stars had the ending not felt slightly rushed. This was a shame, and somewhat surprising, given how well developed the rest of the book is. Still, I won't dwell on the single negative point when this tale contains some of the most engaging characters I've come across in many a book.

About the author

Joe Abercrombie is the author of the First Law Trilogy (The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings). His standalone novels (Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country) are also set in the First Law world.

His novels have been shortlisted for the World Fantasy Awards, British Fantasy Awards, John W. Campbell Award and the David Gemmell Legend Awards. His covers are also award winning, and have won both the David Gemmell Legend Award and the World Fantasy Award for best artwork.

Joe formerly worked as a freelance film editor and is now a full time writer who lives in Bath with his family.

Follow @LordGrimdark on twitter for more information, or visit www.joeabercrombie.com.